Kevin Hardie, a sophomore Psychology major from Rosedale, N.Y., didn’t find a debate club at the Activities Fair in his first year at Arcadia, so he started the Arcadia Debate Society.

“I went back and forth piecing things together to find Arcadia had a debate-like team that wasn’t officially a club,” explained Hardie. “So knowing what I knew, I decided I was going to make the first Arcadia debate team and that’s what I did.”

From there, he took the steps necessary to create a new club and have it recognized under the Student Government Organization (SGO).

“Getting it started wasn’t easy though,” he said. “Writing the bylaws for the club took me a while, and going through the meetings to get the club officiated was a bit tiring, but my team and I pushed through and ended up getting everything approved, starting the first debate club here at Arcadia.”

The team meets weekly on Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. in Landman Library. At each meeting, students get a topic to research and develop their respective arguments before they engage in debates with one another. After each discussion, other club members provide feedback on the performances of the students who debated, helping them hone their skills.

“It’s important to have a debate team because that’s one of the main academic sports that can lead to a lot of possibilities,” Hardie said. “Right now, I’m trying to get us involved in tournaments and scrimmages with other colleges, to hopefully bring awareness to Arcadia and the debate team. However, that’s still a long way away since this is the training period. I hope students enjoy this club and have fun, make new friends, and of course, debate to their best abilities.”

Students can join the Arcadia Debate Society by attending any of the club’s meetings in Landman Library or by joining the “Debate club” group on GroupMe.